Sustainability

Question 1

What are the six pillars of Beca’s sustainable design framework?

Answer 1

1. Integrating cultural perspectives
2. Designing out waste and pollution
3. Cycling materials and assets at their highest value
4. Regenerating natural systems
5. Creating socio-economic benefits
6. Increasing resilience and adaptation

Source: ‘Sustainability Aspects of Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway Project Bridges’ (Beca, June 2023)

Question 2

What are five ways to design out waste and pollution?

Answer 2

• Reuse and recovery of materials
• Off-site construction
• Materials optimisation
• Waste efficient procurement
• Deconstruction and flexibility.

Source: ‘Sustainability Aspects of Peka Peka to Ōtaki Expressway Project Bridges’ (Beca, June 2023)

Question 3

What is embodied carbon?

Answer 3

In the context of building and construction, embodied carbon and operational carbon make up the whole carbon life cycle of a building. Embodied carbon is all the carbon that is not emitted through operational processes; operational carbon is the carbon emitted only while the building is being used.

The emissions ‘embodied’ in the construction of a building or structure can come through raw material extraction, transportation of materials, materials wasted, building operations and maintenance, and the emissions a building continues to produce after it is no longer in use, e.g. demolition and disposal.

Source: treehugger.com, accessed July 2023